Humorous Detective

Romaine Wilder, big-city medical examiner with a small-town past, has been downsized and evicted. With few other options, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Roble in East Texas, leaving behind the man she’s dating and the life she’s worked hard to build. Suzanne Babet Derbinay, Romaine’s Auntie Zanne and proprietor of the Ball Funeral Home, has long since traded her French Creole upbringing for Big Texas attitude. She’s a member in a number of ladies’ auxiliaries and clubs, including being in charge of the Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival. Hanging on to ...

Collection of short stories featuring Delovoa and his life pre-Belvaille. Print Length: 66 pages Includes: -How Delovoa became so intelligent -How Delovoa first joined the military as a scientist -Early experiments with artificial intelligence -Where ZR3 came from -Meeting the Ontakians -Delovoa's advanced work with mutations -Delovoa's exile as a criminal -Early life on Belvaille and his unique, and pervasive, impact on the city NOTE: while the stories are stand-alone, it contains many references to characters and events in Hard Luck Hank novels.

A quirky, dark-edged mystery full of twists, turns and playful surprises Max Black, retired stock broker and single parent, is facing a crisis. His daughter has left for university, and despite the companionship of his faithful Cairn terrier Monty, he feels panicked, untethered and not very well. His doctor tells him to get out more, change his lifestyle and find himself a job. Could Duntisbourne Hall, a rundown stately home recruiting tour guides, be the answer to his empty-nest syndrome? Joining the team of eccentric retired professionals who shuffle the general public around on tour, he ...

The Wollestonecraft Girls embark on their most important case yet - the famed dinosaur fossil hunter Mary Anning is being blackmailed. Her precious dog has been snatched and the kidnappers are demanding that Miss Anning authenticate some fake dinosaur bones up for auction at the British Museum in order to get him back. Ada and Mary have just three days to track down the fossil fakers, find the dog, and save the integrity of science!

A summer cruise. Horseplay and hijinks. And DEATH on the high seas! Starry eyed intern Meg Butler has embarked on her dream job, only to be thwarted at the first step. No, she didn't mean to poison the guests at the Sail Away party. Her boss thinks otherwise and is ready to send her back home. When a healthy young man is found dead in his cabin, Meg thinks its murder! But who will believe her? Flanked by a motley group of interns and crew members, Meg stumbles her way across Alaska, separating the clues from the red herrings, determined to find the guilty passenger. Meanwhile, things are ...

RJ Spencer is a lucky 12-year-old. He lives in the big city and his parents are landlords of the high-rise apartment building that is his home. The many tenants in the building, along with the endless possibilities of adventures in the city itself, are the perfect setting for the young detective as he sets out to solve every case he can get his hands on. Someone is not obeying the local rule of cleaning up after their pets and RJ and Joey keep finding themselves tracking this smelly mess around behind them. They are determined to solve this mystery and find the guilty party.

In The Case of the Crown Jewels, when the crown jewels go missing from Kennel Palace, it's up to super-sleuth Sherlock Bones and Dr. Catson to solve the crime. But with multiple suspects and a trail that's starting to run cold, will they be able to catch the culprit in time? In The Mystery of the Vanishing Magician, when a famous magician vanishes from a train bound to Paris, Catson is convinced of foul play… but none of the other passengers seem to know anything about the magician. Was he on the train at all?

Cedar Grove is abuzz with excitement as the Halloween Festival draws near, but for Lila Harrington, owner of the Harrington Inn, the holiday takes a chilling turn. Strange creaks echo from the empty upper floors, shadowy figures flit through the halls, and a mysterious history of tragic lovers haunts the property. When one of her guests is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Lila’s unease turns to determination. With her best friend Jane by her side and her clever beagle Barkley sniffing out clues, Lila dives into a mystery that blurs the lines between the supernatural and the all-...

Marriage? It can be absolute murder. The royal wedding looms and Felicity can think of little else … until a member of her dream team is arrested for attempted murder. Doris, a long-time friend and superstar florist, stands accused of attempting to kill half a dozen brides, their bouquets poisoned with an unknown toxin. Ordered not to interfere by the hateful Chief Inspector Quinn, Felicity is determined to find the real person behind the bizarre crimes and clear her friend’s name – Doris must be innocent, right? But Felicity is not exactly known for her sleuthing skills. If anything,...

A fun short story mystery for children ages 9-12. RJ Spencer is a lucky 12-year-old. He lives in the big city and his parents are landlords of the high-rise apartment building that is his home. The many tenants in the building, along with the endless possibilities of adventures in the city itself, are the perfect setting for the young detective as he sets out to solve every case he can get his hands on.... Something terrible has happened to Hensely, the doorman. RJ and Joey fear the worst when it seems that a famous magician has done the unthinkable.

When renowned historian Dr. Blake vanishes without a trace, B&B owner and amateur sleuth, Lila Harrington stumbles upon the mystery of a lifetime. With her loyal beagle, Barkley, and gossipy best friend, Jane, Lila dives headfirst into the investigation. As the trio unravels the clues—strange ledgers, cryptic symbols, and shady deals—they soon discover that those closest may not be who they seem. What begins as a simple inquiry into the missing scholar, spirals into a web of deception, hidden motives, and long-buried secrets tied to an ancient artifact with unimaginable power. With help...

Set in 1946 England, Murder at Rutherford Hall is a gripping tale that will have you turning pages till the end to figure out ‘whodunit’! The charming characters simply pull you into a setting of elaborate richness woven with humour and portraits of a bygone era where homes were large and beautiful, people dressed for dinners and life moved with a certain grace for the privileged. Against this enchanting backdrop, love and betrayal, life and death, laughter and grief, wealth and poverty come together to provide an immensely entertaining read. Star Reviews for ‘Murder at Rutherford ...

Isabella Proctor has a new super power... ...finding dead bodies. What did she ever do to deserve this? She’d like to trade this power in for something, anything else – talk to ants, mix the perfect mojito, anything other than finding her friends dead. After her neighbor is murdered, her not-so-ordinary life takes a sharp turn into the weird – magic amulets, secret societies, deadly feuds, and talking cats. Things go from bad to worse when another friend is murdered and she can’t go to Detective Palmer for help. Can she capture a witch so much older and stronger than she is or will ...

Suzie Housley, Midwest Book Review…"Parsons writes with an intense purpose that will leave the reader fully satisfied. Masterfully crafted…readers will find themselves unable to put this book down." Cambridge, Massachusetts…Detective Karl Shea is drinking Tanqueray London Dry Gin, straight up, at a bar in Harvard Square. He hasn't been to church in thirty years, but the prayer he learned to the rhythmic tap of the nuns' rulers ruminates through his brain…confess my sins, do penance, and amend my life, Amen. Amend. With less than a year to live, Karl knows he has to start amending ...

Murder Among Heirs When the wealthy and enigmatic Walter Farnsworth, a pharmaceutical tycoon, brings his family to Turtle Cove for a getaway at the Willowrose Inn, the picturesque coastal town braces for a storm—both literally and figuratively. Walter’s hidden motives come to light when his favored heir, daughter Alexandra, is found dead as a fierce tempest rages outside. Suspicion falls on the troubled Farnsworth clan, each with secrets worth killing for. Inn owners Grace and Lily Garrison find themselves entangled in the mystery as the family’s dark history surfaces. With tensions ...

Verity King has a problem with her husband. He’s been turned into a frog, and contrary to opinion, that’s not an improvement. A cryptic message, a severed finger in her fridge, and no signs of forced entry make it clear to Tempest why he was called, but Mr King’s worrying transformation is just the first act. Almost before he can add up the clues, a second victim confirms the theme and Tempest finds himself up against someone performing modern retellings of the Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales … with real live human characters. Tempest also has a new partner and it’s not his old army...

There are places in this world where even angels fear to tread. In book 2 of the gripping thriller, Cain Haight — a drunk ex-soldier, his opportunist ex-wife, her redneck mother, and a sweet Amish woman are on a mission to rescue two kids from the rebel soldiers who kidnapped them. But they have to survive journeying across the Tennessee landscape filled with nightmarish creatures. The words of Cain’s grandmother echo in his ears. “There are places in this world where even angels fear to tread.” But that’s where we’re headed, straight into Hell. Grab your copy and start reading ...

For years, a monolithic Timberwolf-class starship has been hidden, but now it’s about to reappear. Together with his girlfriend Sam and the rest of the Striker Force Raptor team, Joel has been assigned to retrieve this ghost ship and return it to its rightful owners. But what seems like an exhilarating adventure takes a dangerous turn amid chance encounters with black holes and hidden planets. When the team find the crew of the ghost ship dead with no discernible cause, they must figure out what happened—and if they themselves are at risk. In this quest for answers, Joel is about to ...

A Cupcakes-and-Crime Caper When Rosie’s brother Max shows up unexpectedly, it’s obvious to Tiffany that the charming Max is hiding secrets… will he reveal them in time, or get them in trouble too? Meanwhile, Ian is back too, and indulging in his inner groomzilla, planning an over-the-top chapel wedding. The murder of an Elvis impersonator puts wedding planning on hold when Tiffany and Rosie are asked to investigate, and Ian insists on helping out.Who would’ve wanted (fake) Elvis to leave the building? Tiffany’s investigation flushes out a host of secrets and enemies, but who ...

She should say no. She’s not a detective after all. But how can she? When Felicity Philips receives a panicked call from an old friend, there simply isn’t a way that she can turn him down. Edward, the jeweller to the crown, is in deep trouble and he cannot tell the police. His terrible truth must be kept secret. But what is his motivation for calling Felicity? Does he really believe she is the only one who can help? Or are his motivations more personal and dark than he is letting on? With her usual cast of supporting misfits, Felicity is going to see what she can do … … but when she...